As many of us are aware the Islamic Regime Embassy in Ottawa is organizing a “cultural event” called Iran the Land of Glory, which is to take place at the National Art Centre, in Ottawa on June 4th.

Given that the National Art Centre is a partially government funded entity it is extremely concerning that the National Art Centre has agreed to host an event organized by the Islamic Regime Embassy.

Due to the limited diplomatic relations between Canada and Iran there is nothing prohibiting the Regime from having this event, but the fact that it is taking place at a government funded entity gives the illusion that both the National Art Centre and the Canadian Government are supporting this event.

I would urge Canadians to not only not attend this event, which is being organized by one of the worst dictatorship regime’s in the world, but also to perhaps consider not attending any future events held at the National Art Centre to show dissatisfaction with any entity that will cater to the Islamic Regime, especially on Canadian soil.

The Islamic Regime is no longer a danger which only concerns the Iranian people. A Regime that supports international terrorism, has denied the Holocaust, has threatened the existence of Israel and is in pursuit of nuclear weapons is a danger to the International Community as a whole.

The Regime has also tried on numerous occasions to infiltrate and influence Canadian entities by threatening the National Archives, to prevent them from showing the film Iranium, or by attempting to infiltrate the RCMP Outreach Program. The Canadian Government however has always taken a strong stand against the Regime both internationally and in Canada.

I urge the Canadian Government to once again show its support for the Iranian people by preventing the Regime from having events in Government funded entities. I also urge all Canadians to voice their concern both to the National Art Centre and the Canadian Government in regards to any events being organized by a dictatorship regime which has no respect for life, liberty and culture.

The Islamic Regime of Iran is at it again, attempting to organize a "cultural event" at the National Art Centre in Ottawa on June 4th 2011. The Regime has been known to organize so called culltural events every so often in order to mask its true nature, and hide behind culture. This is an attempt to move the focus of Canadians and the Canadian Government away from the human rights violations, recent waive of mass executions, rape and torture in prisons and the general illegitimacy of the Regime in Iran.

This event is being organized by the Cultural Centre of Iran which is affiliated with the Islamic Regime Embassy in Ottawa. It is concerning to see that once again the Regime is attempting to show its influence and power in Canada.

I urge all freedom loving activists to write to the National Art Centre and voice your concerns over this "cultural event" organized by the Regime.

Rosemary Thompson, Director of Communications and Public Affairs of NAC (613) 947-7000

We may have to organize a protest but I am hoping it won't come to that and the National Art Centre will cancel the event. Please call and send emails as soon as you can, and circulate this as wide as possible, especially to our friends in Ottawa.

Last night two young brothers Abdollah (29) and Mohammad (27) were executed by the Islamic Regime in the city of Isfehan. Two brothers had been arrested in March of 2010 and “convicted” after mock trials without defence lawyers on charges of “involvement with anti revolutionary groups”, “armed opposition” and being a “mohareb” (enemy of God).

Last night thousands of activists awaited by their phones, TV’s and computers waiting to see whether the executions would be carried out. Thousands of activists had come together on facebook and twitter, circulating news about the brothers, writing to the authorities and hoping that the executions would be halted.

Around 7am Isfehan time the Fatehi brother's mother went inside the prison and was able to visit them one last time, although the prison guards refused to take the handcuffs off of Abdollah and Mohammad so that they could hug their mother one last time before executions. Moments after she came out of the prison two ambulances were seen going inside the prison, and the family was told to collect the bodies of the two brothers from the morgue.

While many of us are grieving the murder of two young political activists we are also faced with the immanent possibility of more executions, starting with the possible execution of Habibollah Latifi which may be carried out as early as tomorrow.

For those who may not remember Mr. Latifi is a 29 year old Kurdish activist who was “convicted” of being a “Mohareb” and “membership in the Kurdish opposition group PJAK” after being subjected to severe torture and going through the usual three minute mock trial.

Mr. Latifi’s execution had been scheduled for last December, however thanks to worldwide international campaign, as well the a major protest in front of the prison in Sanandaj, the authorities did not carry out the execution and sent it back to court for “confirmation”

According to various reports the death sentence against Mr. Latifi has once again been confirmed and has been sent to the branch carrying out sentences to be executed. There have been a number of reports suggesting the execution may be carried out tomorrow (May 18th 2011). In any event it is clear that the risk of execution of Mr. Latifi is imminent and I call on all activists and organizations who took part in the campaign of Fatehi brothers to also do what they can to stop the execution of Mr. Latifi.

Mass executions by the Regime have always signaled Regime’s fear and despair from the people. We have seen this in 1981, summer of 1988 and most recently after the June 2009 [s]elections. When the Regime feels threatened and weak it kills, it kills in order to bring fear and terror to the heart of the people. In order to make sure people are too afraid to rise up. In the past few months once again we have seen a similar pattern of almost daily executions in Iran, which can only signal the terror of the Regime from the people.

One can only hope that people of Iran will come to realize their strength, and the Regime’s fear from them. People of Iran are strong, and the Regime has gotten extremely weak, especially in the past two years, making the overthrow of the Islamic Regime a real possibility. I hope that through this tragedy and perhaps others to come we do not lose sight of this reality.

I certainly hope the recent executions by the Regime have opened the eyes of many who choose to only focus on human rights issues, ignoring the broader and the more real issue which is regime change in Iran.

In the hopes of a day when the Islamic Regime will be overthrown by the Iranian people and we will see a free, secular and democratic Iran.

According to news reports from Committee of Human Rights Reporters two brothers Mohammad (27) and Abdollah (29) who are currently being held in the intelligence service section of the Isfehan Prison are scheduled to be executed tomorow morning.

These brothers are political prisoners and were subjected to brutal physical and psychological torture in order to force confessions from them. According to a statement from their father, their lawyer was not allowed to be present during the" trial", after which they were "convicted" of communicating with opposition groups, armed opposition and being a "mohareb" (enemy of God).

The family of the Fatehi brothers have urged all human rights organizations and activists to do what ever in their power to stop the execution of Mohammad and Abdullah.

I am hopeful that people of Isfehan will rise up and stop the execution of these two brothers the same way people of Sanandaj stopped the execution of Habibollah Latifi in December of 2010.

Please circulate and do what you can to get the word out as much as possible. We only have a few hours, so let's do what we can.

Today we mark the one year anniversary of Farzad Kamangar’s execution by the Islamic Regime. On that dark day the Islamic Regime executed Mr. Kamangar who was a peace loving teacher and activist as well as four other Ali Heydariyan, Farhad Vakili, Shirin Alamhool and Mehdi Eslamiyan.

While a year has passed we have not forgotten Mr. Kamangar and what he stood for, and we continue to move on the same path for a free, secular and democratic Iran.

While a year later I am still deeply saddened by this tragedy I am also hopeful and encouraged to see that the fight against the Islamic Regime is becoming bigger and stronger every day.

My thoughts and condolences are with the families and loved ones of Mr. Kamangar, Heydariyan, Vakili, Eslamiyan and Ms. Alamhooli.

In hopes of a free Iran where innocent young people will not be executed for “political crimes”

As many of you may have already heard Trita Parsi had been invited to speak at the “Iran in Context Conference” in Ottawa which is organized by Canada International Council and scheduled for May 5th. Upon hearing this news a campaign was started by prominent Iranian activists in Canada and the United States to expose Mr. Parsi and his agenda for lobbying for the Islamic Regime.

Following an eloquently written open letter by Dr. Arash Irandoost, which was signed by a number of prominent Iranian and non Iranian activists, and an op-ed in the National Post co-authored by Kenneth Timmerman and myself, Canada International Council announced that Mr. Parsi would not be speaking at the conference due to “family and health reasons.”

This is another clear example of how coming together and working in a unified fashion towards a common goal can be very effective. We have managed to keep Mr. Parsi from coming to Canada and lobbying for the Islamic Regime, at least for the time being. We need to keep vigilant and continue to work together in order to keep the voice of the real Iranian opposition strong.

I want to send my sincere thanks to everyone who was involved in this campaign, Dr. Irandoost for being the pioneer in this campaign and writing the letter, everyone who signed and helped circulate it, Mr. Timmerman for co-authoring the op-ed and everyone behind the scenes who helped with editing and publication, as well as other activists and organizations who wrote to the Canada International Council about their concerns in regards to the conference.

About This Writer

Sayeh Hassan is a criminal defense lawyer with Walter Fox & Associates and an Iranian pro-democracy activist. She is the author of the shiro-khorshid-forever blog (www.shiro-khorshid-forever.blogspot.com) which focuses on the pro-democracy movement and Regime Change in Iran. Through her pro-democracy activities she stays in close contact with activists in Iran as well as retaining contacts with various human rights and pro-democracy organizations abroad. She regularly speaks at conferences, has appeared on television and radio programs and her writing has been published by publications such as National Post, Canada Free Press, Winnipeg Jewish Review, Alliance for Kurdish Rights, and Kurdish Aspect. She can be contacted at sayehhassan30@gmail.com